Track drilling machine



May 14, 1940.

E. A. EVERETT TRACK DRILLING MACHINE Filed oct. 1e, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet1 K QRN 1mm, wm

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lNv 5% TToRNE May 14, 1940. E. A. EVERETT TRACK DRILLING MACHINE Filed0t. 16, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTR iadwpf? ger/eff Tf RNEY n May 14,1940. l E. A. r-:vERr-:TT 0 2,201,033

` .TRACK DRILLING MACHINE Filed Oct. 16, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORRNEY May 14, 1940. E. A. EVERETT TRACK DRILLING MACHINE Filed Oct. 16.1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR May 14, 1940. Y E. A. EVERETT 2,201,033

l TRACK DRILLING MACHINE l Filed Oct. 1,6, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR A oRNl-:Y f

Patented May 14, 1940 eATENT OFFICE 2,201,033 TRACK DRILLING MACHINEEdward A. Everett, New York, N. Y., assigner to Nande Corporation, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 16, 1937,Serial No. 169,523

' 9 illaims.i (Gl. 778) When adapted for drillin-g the web of the railThis invention relates to machine tools for operating on the rails of arailway track and, as shown in the drawings, is adapted for drilling therail after itis in place in the track. An object of the invention is toprovide a portable drilling machine, preferably operated from a sourceof self-contained power, for drilling the rail. Another object of theinvention is to adapt the machine for drilling the head of the rail,

. or for drilling the web of the rail; another object of the inventionis to provide means for elevating the frame of the machine relative tothe rail and another object of the invention is to provide means forelevating the supp-ort of the machine relative to the ties.

Other objects of the invention are to facilitate the use and operationof the machine in the various positions in which, it is used, and whichWill be more particularly understood from the following specieation `andfrom the accompanying drawings, illustrating the preferred form of theinvention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side View of the drilling machine complete, mounted on arail in position for drilling the rail head;

Fig. 1a is a fragmentary part of the tie supporting mechanism for themachine in Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the elevating mechanism for raising andlowering the frame relative to the rail;

Fig. 3 is an end View of the elevating mechanism shown in Fig. 2; c

Fig. 4 is a side View of the frame supporting mechanism resting on theties;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the mechanism'sho in Fig. 4.

A particular use of this machine is in connection with the electricbonding of rail joints for track circuit purposes. Two generaltypes of4Q bonds have come into use, one of which is applied through a holedrilled in the web of the rail forconductors passingaround the shplate,and the other is applied through a bottomed hole in the l head of therail drilled close to thejoint. In the 4,51 former application the holeis vdrilled. completely the` machine is applied to the rail in itslowered position and the mechanism is adjusted tolocate the drill atright angles to the rail with the clamp arranged to engage the head ofthe rail opposite the drill. The machine is mounted upon flangedyrollers and it is substantially balanced on these rollers on one railwith the engine or motor on one side of the rail and the drillingmechanism on the opposite side so that it may be conveniently rolledalong the rail from joint to joint by the operator.

When adapted for drilling the head of the rail, the machine is elevatedrelative to the railso as to bring the drill into position opposite therail head. For this purpose the supporting rollers are each mounted uponan arm which is pivotally connected to the frame and each arm isprovided with a gear quadrant engaging a worm. These worms `are mountedon a shaft which may be rotated in either direction by a ratchetmechanism to cause the arms to swing on their pivots and thereby raiseor` lower the frame to the position desired. The drilling end of themachine is supported on the ties and a mechanism 'is providedforlowering the tie engaging member as the machine frame is raised tomaintain the drill spindle at right angles to the rail. This mechanismembodies a parallel motion and is operated by a screw to the positiondesired.

This machine corresponds in its general construction tothe machine shownin U. S. Patent 1,421,194 of June'27, 1922with added features whichenhances its use and facilitates its operation.

'The general construction of the machine In Fig. 1, Il is the rail ofthe track, I2 is one end of thelmain frame I'I of the machine, I4 is oneof the bars connected to themain frame I1 and supporting the pad I5 uponwhich the motor or gasoline engine 25, With the fuel `tanlr 26, ismounted. A corresponding bar is provided on the opposite side of theframe which does not show in Fig. 1. The frame is continued by a pair ofmembers one of which is shown at I8, to which the gear case I9 issecured and the housing 20 for the operating spindle. An up-standingpipe frame 22 is also secured to the frame member I'I and supports theoil reservoir 23 which connects by pipe 24 with an orifice thatlubricates the drill in operation. This pipe frame is used to stabilizethe machine as it is rolled along the track.

4 By the shaft 21 the engine 25 drives the pulley 28, journaled in thebracket 2|, and by belt 29 and belt wheel 30 the power is transmitted tothe gears in the gear box I9 and through these .gears to the operatingspindle in housing 20, according to established practice in drillingmachines which is not shown on the drawings. A depth gage 32 is providedfor the drill 3i and the drill spindle is brought into position by thefeed lever 34pivoted at 35 and connected by the link 33 with the spindlemechanism. This lever is normally retrieved by the spring 36 and is usedto initially bring the drill into drilling position after which thedrill is fed forward by the feed gear lever 31, engaging a rack at 38for feeding the drill, as more particularly illustrated in U. S. Patent1,421,194 above referred to. The machine is provided with a pair ofhandles at 39, at the spindle side and with a pair of handles shown at40, on the engine side whereby it may be readily lifted from the track.

In order to support the machine horizontal when it is removed from thetrack a bail 4I is provided below the engine and pivotally mounted onshaft 42 so that it may be placed in the horizontal position to avoidobjects on the track. The support for the mechanism on the tiescomprises a foot 43 of sufficient length to bridge a pair of ties andwhich is` pivotally connected at 44 to the link 45 and through theconnection 46 to the member 41 which forms 'a parallel motion and whichpivotally connects this foot with the frame, its position relative tothe frame being adjusted by the screw 48.

The frame is supported on the track by a flanged roller 5I, pivoted at52 in the arm. 53, which is pivoted at 54 to the frame I1 at l2 andwhich has secured thereto the worm quadrant 55, engaged by the worm` 56on shaft 51, supported by bracket 58, the vertical adjustment of' themachine being secured by the shaft 51 as hereinafter more particularlydescribed.

The clamp 59, with the screw 60, engages the rail head when the machineis adjusted for drilling the head of the rail and G8 indicates aclamping member on the opposite side of the rail.

The elevating mechanism on the rail In Fig. 2, the roller 5I on rail Ilis pivoted at 52 on the arm 53 which is pivoted at 54 to the frame I1and which is provided with a quadrant 55, bolted to 53 at 6|. Thisquadrant is toothed to engage the worm 56 on shaft 51, mounted in thebearing bracket 58. A corresponding construction is provided for theopposite roller with the corresponding parts having the same referencenumerals but designated by a prime mark. 'Ihev quadrant 55 is providedwith an index 61 moving below a fixedpointer 66 by which the adjustedposition can readily be ascertained. The

shaft 51 is rotated by the ratchet wheel 62, en-

gaged by the ratchet detent 63, controlled by the knurled nut 64 andoperated by the handle 55 similar to a brace ratchet. The nut 64 may beadjusted to engage the ratchet for either direction of rotation. It willbe noted that the worm threads of 56 and 55 are in opposite directionsand that the arm 53 moves to the position indicated in dotted outlinewhile the arm 53' moves in the opposite direction to the positionindicated in dotted outline. This balances the forces acting on the worm5E and 55 with the result that the ratchet may be operated to raise orlower the machine with comparatively little effort, also .the mechanismis self locking and does not tend to change the adjustment. It will benoted that as the rollers are spread apart the frame l1 is droppedcloser to the rail and the mechanism is correspondingly lowered. FromFig. 3 it will be observed that the arm 53' is made in the form of ayoke with bearings on each side of the roller and of the frame.

Both rollers make the same angle with the vertical as they aresimultaneously moved so that a uniform support is provided for themachine as its height is adjusted without straining or twisting theframe, and the frame is always parallel with the rail insuring alignmentof the drill.

The elevating mechanism on the ties 'I'he bar or foot 43 rests across apair of ties. It is pivotally mounted at 11 in the yoke 19 with a degreeof lost motion indicated at 18 whereby it may adjust itself to unevenconditions in the ties. The H-shaped link 45 is pivoted at 44 to theyoke 19 and at 15 is pivoted to the spindle housing 2li, and the link 41is pivoted at 16 to the housing 20.

These links are connected by the connection 46 which maintains themparallel to each other. Link 45 is pivotally connected at 14 to thescrewsleeve 13 which receives the screw shaft 48 and the upper end ofthis shaft screws into sleeve 1| which pivotally connects at 12 with thehousing It will be observed that as this screw is operated the foot 43may be raised to the position indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 4 ormay be stopped in any intermediate position and during this entiremovement the yoke 19, supporting 43, is maintained horizontal. Thisyoke, Fig. 5, is

concaved at 69 to clear the lower part of the housing 20 as indicated indotted outline in this gure, when the support is closed up against thespindle housing` This adjustment is made in cooperation with theadjustment of the rollers in Fig. 2 so as to locate the spindlesubstantially at right angles to the rail.

It is very desirable to drill the bottomed holes in the rail head asaccurately as possible and to insure this result a steady support forthe machine is necessary. The rail provides a steady support at one end,but the other end of the machine is supported on the wooden ties. To geta proper bearing for the support, the shoe is v provided with a flatface having considerable area in engagement with the ties and as theshoe is adjusted this flat face'is maintained parallel with the ties.The link connection between the shoe and the frame forms a trussconnection which tends to neutralize vibration. If the machine is notmaintained steady the drilled hole will not be truly cylindrical.

The refinements herein disclosed are of material importance in theoperation and use of the machine and may be applied in a single machinein the combination shown or each featurel may be applied with othertypes of machine that will produce the samek results, which is theintent and purpose of the invention.

'Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A track drilling machine, comprising a frame with a drillingmechanism on the transverse centre of the frame for drilling the rail,said frame being supported at two spaced points on the rail and by theties of the track, means for adjusting the height of the frame relativeto the rail at said supporting points, a foot engaging the ties, a pairof links in line with the drilling mechanism pivotally connecting saidfoot with said frame, means maintaining said links in parallel relationto each other and means for Cil raising and lowering said foot relativeto the frame. o

2. A track drilling machine, comprising a frame with a drillingmechanism on the transverse centre of the frame for drilling the rail,said frame being supported at two spaced points on the rail and by theties of the track, means for adjusting the height of the frame relativeto the rail at said supporting points, a foot having a face engaging theties, a pair of links in line with the drilling mechanism pivotallyconnecting said foot with said frame, means for maintaining said linksin parallel relation to each other to maintain said face parallel to theties, a screw sleeve pivoted to one of said links, a second screw sleevepivoted to said frame and a screw engaging said sleeves to raise andlower said foot relative to the frame.

3. A track drilling machine, comprising a frame with a drillingmechanism on the, transverse centre of the frame for drilling the rail,said frame being supported at two spaced points on the rail and by theties of the track, means for adjusting the height of the frame relativeto the rail at said supporting points, a foot engaging the ties, anH-shaped link in line with the drilling mechanism pivotally connectingsaid foot at its free ends to said frame, a screw sleeve pivoted to saidlink, a second screw sleeve pivoted to said frame and a screw engagingsaid sleeves to raise and lower said foot relative to the rail.

4. A track drilling machine, comprising a -frame vwith a drillingmechanism on the transverse centre of the frame for drilling the rail,said frame being supported at two spaced points on the rail and by theties of the track, means for adjusting the height of the frame relativeto the rail at said supporting points, a foot arranged to engage a pairof ties, a link in line with the drilling mechanism pivotally connectedto the frame at one end, a yoke pivotally connected to the opposite endof the link, said foot pivotally connected to said yoke with a limitedpivotal motion with the pivot parallel to the axial line of the drilland means for moving said link on its pivots to adjust the support ofsaid frame.

5. A track drilling machine, comprising a frame with a drillingmechanism on the transverse centre of the frame for drilling the rail,said frame being supported at two spaced points on the rail and by theties of the track, means for adjusting the height of the frame relativeto the rail at said supporting points, a foot engaging the ties, a linkin line with the drilling mechanism pivotally connected to straddle saidframe and capable of moving on its pivot parallel with the frame, a yokepivotally connected to the opposite end of the link, said yoke beingconcaved on its upper side to clear said frame when the link is raised,a foot pivotally connected to said yoke and means for moving said linkon its pivots to adjust the support of said frame..

6. A track drilling machine comprising a frame mounted on a rail of thetrack with a drilling mechanism on the transverse centre of the framehaving aspindle for drilling the track rail, said drilling mechanismoverhanging the rail and a support resting on the ties of the track forsaid mechanism, comprising a foot resting on the ties,

parallel links connecting said foot with the'drilling mechanism and ascrew engaging said frame and said links for adjusting the position ofsaid foot.

'7. A track drilling machine comprising a frame mounted on a rail ofAthe track with a drilling mechanism on the transverse centre of theframe having a spindle for drilling the track rail, said drillingmechanism overhanging the rail and a Asupport resting on the ties of thetrack for said mechanism, said support comprising a foot to rest uponthe ties, a yoke, a universal connection between said yoke and saidfoot, parallel links connecting said yoke with said drilling mechanismand means for moving said links to adjust the position of said foot. Y

8. A ytrack drilling machine as in claim '7 in which a pivotalconnection is provided `between centre pivotally connected to said foot,parallel links connecting said yoke to said drilling mechanism, saiddepressed centre registering with the housing of said drilling mechanismand means for folding said links to bring said yoke against saidmechanism.

EDWARD A. EVERE'I'I.

